Locker latch



June 24, 1930.' F Al SCHMxTZ ET AL LOCKER LATCH Filed Aug. 25, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Y daar/@ faQ/17 June 24, 1930. F. A. sci-nvnTZI T ALY. 1,766,193

LOCKER LATCH Filed Aug. 25, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y PatentediJune- 24, 1930 UNITI-:D Samaras PATENT: olf-'rma FRED A. SCHMITZ AND JOSEPH STURM, OF CANTON, OHIO, AtiSIGNDRS,v BY MESNE' i' ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE BERGER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CANTON, OHIO, A

CORPOATION OF NEW JERSEY LocxEa Laren Application. filed August 25, 1927. SeriallNo. 215,422.

rlhese and other objects will become more readily apparent in the course of the following description of one embodiment of the invention, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, y

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a locker in which is embodied the novel latching mechanism; A

Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the door and adjacent portions of the locker, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section through a portion of the tubular housing and the latching bar therein, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. a is a detail View of a portion of the latching bar showing one of the hooks secured thereto, and a portion of the jamb plate showing one of the slots adapted to cooperate with the hook; l

Fig. 5 is 'an exploded view of the handle and a portion of the housing which is adapted to receive tenoned portions of the handle,

Referringy more particularly to the drawings, the locker comprises a sheet metal body 1, and a door 2 hingedthereon.v The door 2 is formed at one of its side edges with a tubular reinforcement or housing 3, closed at the top by a door flange and 'open at the bottom to facilitate insertion and removal of the 'latching bar, to be presently described. The door flange and opening at the bottom of the housing are clearly shown 'in copending application, SerialiNo. 209,811,

iled August 1, 1927. The housing 3 has vertically disposed slots 4 at the rear thereof, and vertically disposed slots 5 at theA front thereof. The slots 4 serve a purpose to be presently stated, while the slots 5 serve to receive parts of the handle.

The handle is formed by bending a strip 6 to a U-shape and providing tenons 7 at the ends thereof. These tenons areforced into mortised portions vof a flat strip 8, as shown in Figs. 3 and 5, and are adapted to enter the slots 5 in the housing after the latching bar has been placed in the housing.

lhe locker body 1 is also provided with a vertically extending jamb plate9, substantially lll-shaped in cross-section, and having a laterally disposed dange or jamb strip 10, formed integrally therewith. The jamb strip' 10 is preferably formed as shown, by bendin or doubling the materialv of which the jarnb plate is made, and has ver- -tically disposed slots 11 therein at spaced intervals.

l2, having hook saddles 13 secured thereto at spaced intervals as by spot welding. The saddles 13 are formed from short lengths of angle, and as shown in` Fig. d, an intermediate portion of one leg of the angle is hent into parallelism with the other leg of the angle to provide a bearing for a rivet 1d, on which is pivotally mounted, a hook 15. lln the preferred form of the invention,

-three snchliooks are provided, one adjacent the locker handle, and the other two adjacent the top and bottomv portions of the housing. rlhe hook 15 is formed with an inwardly sloping lower edge 16, a heel 17, and a shoulder 18, adapted to abut the lower end of a spring 19, which is secured to the web of the channel bar 12.. rlhe spring 19 normally causes the hooksl to occupy the position shown in Figs. 3 and 5, further downward movement of the hooks being prevented by virtuelv of the fact that the heel 17 of the hook is, in this position, in contact with one leg of the saddle 13. 'The hooks are so'pivoted on the saddles, that they may bepushed upward to occupy a vertical position, substantially free of the influence of the springs 19, andthis feature is of importance in that it facilitates the insertion of the channel bar and hooks int`o the hous- 'llhe latching bar comprises a channel bar ing 3. The web of the channel bar 12 has also formed therein slots 20.

The various parts described are assembled as follows:

The channel bar is inserted through the `opening at the lower end of the housing 3,

and is pushed` up into the housing until the hooks 15 thereon are opposite the slots 4, the hooks being then caused to project through the slots, to occupy the position shown in Fig. 3. The handle is then mounted on the door in the following manner: The index finger of one hand is inserted through the opening at the bottom of the housing 3, until it contacts with the lower end of the channel bar 12. The bar is then pushed upwardly until the slots therein v ment, as clearly shown in Fig. 3.

In order to prevent any relative movement between the handle and the channel bar, so as to avoid accidental displacement of the handle from the door, the web of the channel bar has secured thereto, as by spot welding, a fiat spring 21, which'abuts the lower end of the upper tenon 7 of the handle, after the channel bar has fallen to engage both tenons of the handle.

The operation of the latching mechanism is briefly as follows:

When the door' is closed, the sloping edges 16 of the hooks ride up over the lower edges ofthe slots 11 in the jamb strip 10, and when these sloping edges vhave passed entirely through the slots, the hooks are forced downward into the latching position shown in Fig. 3, by means of the springs 19. The door may then be opened by moving the channel bar 12 upwardlyby means of the handle 6, until the hooks are clear of engagement with the jamb strip 10.

It should be noted that the force or effort required to close the door of the present locker is considerably less than that required to close the door of a locker wherein the latching iseffected by complete upward movement of a relativel' heavy latching bar. Moreover, the latc ing bar of the present invention may be inserted into the housing without the necessity of forming the housing around the bar.

Having described our invention, what we claim is:

' 1. In combination with a locker comprising a body having a hinged door and a tubular reinforcementV extending along one edge of the door and arranged to form a housing; latching mechanism disposed in said housing and comprising a bar having hooks pivotally mounted thereon, and springsinormally urging said hooksint their lowermost pivotal position.

2. Latching mechanism for a locker com-r prising a bar having hooks pivotally mounted thereon vand spring secured to said baradj acent said hooks, said springs normally urging said hooks into their lowermost pivotal position.

3. Latching mechanism for a locker comprising a bar, hook saddles secured to said bar at spaced intervals thereon, hooks pivotally mounted on said saddles, and springs secured to said bar adjacent said hooks, and acting to normally urge the hooks into their lowermost pivotal position.

4. Latching mechanism for a locker comprising a bar of channel cross-section, hook saddles secured to the web and one flange of the bar at spaced intervals thereon, and y saddles secured -to the web and one flange ofthe bar at spaced intervals thereon, hooks pivotally mounted on said saddles and disposed parallel to the flanges of the bar, and springs secured to the web of the bar above the hook saddles, and acting to normally urge the hooks into their lowermost pivotal position.

6. In combination with a locker door having a tubular reinforcement at one edge thereof, arranged to form a housing; latching mechanism disposed in said housing and comprising a bar having hooks pivotally mounted thereon, and. springs normally urging said hooks into their lowermost pivotal position.

7. In combination with a locker door having a tubular reinforcement at one edge thereof, arranged to form a housing; a latching bar having hooks pivotally mounted thereon and insertable endwise into said tubular reinforcement.

l 8. In combination with a locker door having a tubular reinforcement at one edge thereof, arranged to form a housing; a latching bar having hooks pivotalljy and resiliently lmounted thereon and insertable v endwise into said tubular reinforcement.

In testimony whereof we aiix our signatures.

FRED A. SCHMITZ. JOSEPH S'IURM. 

